GrrlScientist + Food science | The Guardianhttp://www.theguardian.com/science/grrlscientist+food-science
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Mystery meat: it's what's for dinner | GrrlScientisthttp://www.theguardian.com/science/grrlscientist/2013/feb/12/horsemeat-ethics-mystery-meat-dinner
There's more mystery lurking in a horsemeat burger than meets the eye (and none of it is tasty)<p>When I was an undergraduate in college, my colleagues and I would joke about the meals served in the dorm cafeteria as containing &quot;mystery meat&quot;. At the time, I was fresh off the racetrack, and I viewed the identity of minced meat – &quot;hamburger&quot; in the USA – with scepticism. Shortly thereafter, I stopped eating meat altogether.</p><p>Even though I love horses and now am vegan (except one or two days per week when I give in to my lust for sheep cheese), I don't have a problem with people eating horsemeat – no more than I have a problem with people eating any other sort of domestically raised meat. But the current horsemeat scandal points to important issues that should concern everyone, not just those who do not want to knowingly eat horsemeat if given the choice. </p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/science/grrlscientist/2013/feb/12/horsemeat-ethics-mystery-meat-dinner">Continue reading...</a>Food scienceScienceHorsemeat scandalAnimal welfareEthicsBurgersTue, 12 Feb 2013 17:25:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/science/grrlscientist/2013/feb/12/horsemeat-ethics-mystery-meat-dinnerKatherine Rose/ObserverBeef production and slaughter is regulated, but horses don't fare so well. Photograph: Katherine Rose/ObserverKatherine Rose/ObserverMinced meat. Photograph: Katherine Rose for the ObserverGrrlScientist2013-02-12T17:25:00ZHot? Or not? The economics of red-hot chili peppers | GrrlScientisthttp://www.theguardian.com/science/grrlscientist/2011/dec/22/economics-red-chili-peppers
Chilies that produce the hottest fruits grow best when they are given lots of water<p><span style="float: left; padding: 5px;"><a href="http://www.researchblogging.org"><img src="http://www.researchblogging.org/public/citation_icons/rb2_large_gray.png" style="border:0;" /></a></span>One of my passions as an evolutionary biologist is understanding the balance between different forms of particular traits expressed within a population, especially either-or traits such as eye colour. I recently told you about a paper that looked at one such <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/punctuated-equilibrium/2011/dec/01/3">evolutionary trade-off in birds</a>, but birds aren't the only living things where we can see this phenomenon. I was delighted to run across an elegant hot-off-the-presses study in chili peppers by a group from my <em>alma mater</em>, the University of Washington. </p><p> </p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/science/grrlscientist/2011/dec/22/economics-red-chili-peppers">Continue reading...</a>PlantsEvolutionFood scienceChemistryScienceFood & drinkThu, 22 Dec 2011 18:03:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/science/grrlscientist/2011/dec/22/economics-red-chili-peppersJo Whitworth/Gap PhotosIndian style: Apache chillies are great for windowsills. Photograph: Jo Whitworth/Gap PhotosGrrlScientist2011-12-22T18:03:00ZThe science of chocolatehttp://www.theguardian.com/science/punctuated-equilibrium/2011/apr/11/1
Just in time for Easter, a video discussing the science of chocolate (including a few words about its health benefits)<p><img align="right" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4096/5608874123_0f39346031_m.jpg" width="240" height="230" />Easter is coming and we all know what that means: chocolate, and lots of it! But I was surprised to learn how complex it is to make a bar of chocolate -- starting with properly ripening the pods, fermenting the beans, drying, roasting, grinding, and conching -- How did people figure out that a chocolate bar was the result of using all these processes in the correct order?</p><p> </p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/science/punctuated-equilibrium/2011/apr/11/1">Continue reading...</a>ScienceFood scienceNutritionChemistryPhysicsChocolateMon, 11 Apr 2011 09:17:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/science/punctuated-equilibrium/2011/apr/11/1GrrlScientist2011-04-11T09:17:00Z